Student Resources
Before You Use GenAI: Key Questions to Consider
Am I allowed to use GenAI?
For each course, it is the course instructor who decides whether or not students are permitted to use AI in coursework.
The first thing to do is check your course syllabus The course syllabus should explain if the use of GenAI is allowed in student coursework, and if it is allowed, what usages of GenAI are permitted or forbidden. If the course syllabus does not include information on AI use or if you are not clear about the information provided by your instructor, ask your instructor.
Your instructor may also provide more detailed instructions for each class assignment. You must also carefully review these instructions before you start working on your assignment. Make sure that you understand your instructor’s instructions regarding GenAI use in a course assignment.
You will be committing academic misconduct If you use AI for a class assignment when your instructor does not allow it or use GenAI in a way that your instructor prohibits. Academic misconduct is taken very seriously by the University and carries significant consequences ranging from grade reduction to expulsion from the University.
Please also note that you may be using GenAI without intending to do so since GenAI is increasingly integrated into other software students often use to write their assignments, such as Microsoft Word and Google Docs, . Unless permitted by your instructor, you must turn off the GenAI features of any such software when preparing your assignments. Otherwise, you may be investigated for academic misconduct.
Is it ethical to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Generative AI (GenAI)?
This is a question that you need to answer for yourself. Please see the main GenAI Hub page for a discussion of the ethical considerations regarding AI.
How do I use GenAI responsibly and effectively when permitted?
Artificial Intelligence tools can help enhance your learning if used responsibly and effectively. Responsible use of GenAI means ensuring that GenAI use does not undermine your knowledge and skill development. It also requires that you are informed about the limitations and risks of GenAI use and take actions to address the limitations and minimize the risks. The recommendations offered below to address the risks and limitations of GenAI should not be interpreted as endorsement or permission to use GenAI.
Academic Integrity Hub
Check out the University’s Academic Integrity Hub to refresh your knowledge of academic integrity and the University’s Student Code of Conduct (Academic).
AI in Coursework
View the flowchart (PDF) to guide your decision-making when considering the use of AI in coursework.
Student Support
Please note that the following resources are not specific to GenAI but provide broader student support services:
Risks of GenAI Use and Recommendations
Over-reliance on GenAI
Over-reliance on GenAI can reduce your ability to fully understand and apply course material on your own. In the long term, this may weaken essential skills. To avoid this:
- Use GenAI tools as a supplement to your learning, but ensure you grasp the concepts and can complete tasks independently.
- Stay actively engaged in class discussions and activities to reinforce your understanding; don't rely solely on AI for learning.
- Prioritize developing your own critical thinking and problem-solving skills to ensure long-term academic and personal growth.
Personal Data
GenAI tools can collect and store personal data, raising serious privacy concerns. As a student, you should:
- Be cautious about sharing personal or sensitive information with GenAI tools, as this data may be stored or used in unintended ways.
- Understand that GenAI may retain portions of your data, which could lead to privacy breaches.
- Choose the software / tools approved by the University of Regina for your privacy and data security. Currently, MS CoPilot is the institutionally adopted and subscribed GenAI tool. University of Regina students have access to CoPilot free of charge under the University’s MS 365 licence.
Limitations of GenAI and Recommendations
GenAI tools can sometimes generate incorrect, misleading, or entirely fabricated information. To ensure accuracy:
- Always double-check AI-generated content with trusted sources before incorporating it into your work.
- Be cautious, as GenAI tools may confidently present false information. Rely on reputable sources and cross-check facts when using GenAI in research or content creation.
- Use GenAI as a starting point, not a final source-stay critical and confirm all claims before you rely on them.
- Read the original source material not just the GenAI output!
GenAI tools can sometimes generate biased content that reinforce stereotypes or limits diverse perspectives in your academic work. To avoid bias:
- Do not rely on GenAI outputs alone. Actively seek alternative perspectives.
- Be aware that use of GenAI with limited cultural perspectives may reduce the diversity of ideas in your assignments, weakening your critical thinking and academic rigor.
- Before using a GenAI tool, check for a statement from the provider that outlines how they address bias. Leading GenAI companies like Microsoft, Google, and OpenAI often provide these statements. They should confirm that: Diverse and representative source data was used and Strategies to minimize bias and discrimination are part of the GenAI tool's design.
- Review GenAI outputs carefully for biased or discriminatory content. Look for information that focuses on only one demographic or reinforces assumptions and stereotypes.
AI-generated content is based on pre-existing human material, so its outputs lack true originality and innovation. To maintain academic integrity and creativity:
- Use GenAI tools as a starting point for brainstorming, but ensure the final work reflects your own critical thinking and original ideas. Make sure it is clear what came from the tool, and what reflects your own contribution.
- GenAI can handle routine tasks, but always apply your own creativity, analysis, and judgment to the more meaningful and complex parts of your assignments.
- Your originality and critical thinking are irreplaceable-use GenAI for support, but ensure your work stands out with your own analysis and creativity.
- Avoid using GenAI for reading tasks, as engaging directly with texts helps you learn diverse writing styles, argument structures, and language use.
- Write your first drafts independently, using GenAI tools only for feedback or minor revisions-not for developing or structuring your content, and only when permitted by your instructor.
How do I correctly acknowledge GenAI use?
Follow your instructor’s guidelines for GenAI use carefully. If GenAI use is allowed, make sure you are clear about for what purposes and in what manner you are allowed to use GenAI in each assignment. You may be expected to document your process for working with GenAI. Even when you are not required to document your process, it is recommended that you do so and keep drafts of your assignment. In this way, when asked, you can demonstrate how you used GenAI in completing your assignment.
Using GenAI in an ethical and responsible way means being transparent about how it supported your work and which tasks it assisted with. For this reason, you may be required to include a transparency declaration when completing assignments that allow specific or limited uses of GenAI.
Remember to acknowledge how you used GenAI tools to complete your work. Your instructor may provide you with a GenAI transparency framework to assist you in declaring which tools you used and how you used them.
GenAI tools can be used to find sources of information, but they should not be cited as primary sources of information themselves. If you use GenAI tools to learn about a topic, be sure to corroborate the output of the GenAI tool with primary sources such as peer-reviewed journals, books, and other reliable sources of information to ensure accuracy. If you are unable to locate a source for information output by an GenAI tool, consider the possibility that the information may be an AI hallucination and therefore unreliable.
In some cases, your instructor may allow you to cite GenAI tools as primary sources of information. In such cases, be sure you understand how your instructor would like you to acknowledge the AI tools as the source of the information included in your assignment. To learn how to cite GenAI output using MLA, APA, Chicago etc. styles, visit Citing Your Use of GenAI (University of Saskatchewan).
Uploading Instructor Materials to GenAI
Am I allowed to upload my instructor’s teaching materials to a GenAI platform for study purposes?
Any materials created by your instructors and project/thesis supervisors are protected by copyright law. This includes lecture notes, slides, exams, and case studies. You may not upload instructors’ course materials to a GenAI platform without their explicit permission. Otherwise, this could be considered an infringement on your instructors’ intellectual property.
Special Considerations for Graduate Students
As a graduate student, you may be doing research, producing creative works, or working as a teaching or research assistantship. If you choose to use GenAI in your work, it is important that you do so responsibly.
If you are a student in a thesis-based program, you are required to include a transparency statement in your thesis explaining whether and in what ways you used GenAI tools in both the research itself and in the thesis resulting from it. Guidelines for writing the transparency statement can be found on the FGSR page. You must have the approval of both your supervisor and supervisory committee to use GenAI tools.
If you’re a graduate student carrying out research for publication or producing creative works and using GenAI in your work, it is essential that anyone you collaborate with is aware of this and has agreed to it. Journals and academic conferences may require GenAI transparency statements. Be sure to acknowledge the use of AI tools in the production of any creative works.
If you are working as research or teaching assistant, speak with the supervisor of your work (e.g., the professor you are working for; the manager of the research institute that hired you) about any GenAI tools you may wish to use in carrying out your duties. You should not use GenAI tools to evaluate the work of students in the classes you are TA’ing for.
